Environmental | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

N.C. Road Project Violates NEPA

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

The 4th Circuit vacates summary judgment for state and federal highway agencies in North Carolina that approved construction of the “Monroe Connector Bypass,” a new 20-mile toll road linking Mecklenburg and Union Counties; the agencies violated the National Environmental Protection Act by failing to disclose “critical assumptions” underlying project approval and by providing the public [...]

‘Force Majeure’ May Apply to Penalties

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 11, 2012
Tags: Environmental, Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In judicial review of a Consent Decree between plaintiff state and federal governments and defendant Hampton Roads Sanitation District covering sanitary sewer discharges that violated the Clean Water Act, the Norfolk U.S. District Court says HRSD may invoke the Consent Decree’s force majeure provision, but the provision does not bar liability for the 10 weather-related [...]

Appeal of I-81 Widening Project Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 24, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

The 4th Circuit dismisses an appeal by environmental and preservation organizations that challenge federal and state agencies’ planned improvements to Virginia’s Interstate 81 corridor under a tiered review process. Appellants challenged the plan by the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation to use the tiered review process, and the agencies’ execution of [...]

Oil Spill Law Does Not Cover ‘Passive’ Discharge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2012
Tags: Environmental, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Supreme Court of Virginia

A county does not have to compensate the owners of a 165-acre “manufactured home” park for its contamination of groundwater by leachate and gas from an adjacent county landfill, as the Supreme Court of Virginia says Virginia’s Oil Discharge Law “does not apply to the passive, gradual seepage of leachate and landfill gas into groundwater,” [...]

Va. justices to consider AG’s quest for records

By The Associated Press
Published: January 12, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Environmental, Supreme Court of Virginia News

(AP) — The Virginia Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s demand for documents related to a former University of Virginia climate-change researcher’s work. The hearing is set for Thursday. Cuccinelli is seeking emails and other documents as part of his investigation into whether Michael Mann, who now works at [...]

Southside legislators: Keep uranium mining ban

By The Associated Press
Published: January 9, 2012
Tags: Environmental, General Assembly

(AP) Legislators representing districts that encircle a uranium deposit in Southside Virginia are asking their colleagues to abandon any effort in the 2012 session to end the state’s 30-year ban on mining the radioactive ore. They said in a letter that the General Assembly needs additional time to review recent studies on uranium mining, including [...]

Recreational Users Lack Standing

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: Environmental, Judge Walter S. Felton Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals says recreational users of the Chesapeake Bay lack standing to appeal the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) permitting decision allowing two individuals to locate pound nets in the Chesapeake Bay and affirms the circuit court’s dismissal of their petitions. Two individuals applied for permits to locate pound nets in the Chesapeake [...]

Groups Have No Standing in Greenhouse Gas Suit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 14, 2011
Tags: Environmental, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiff environmental groups lack standing to seek declaratory and injunctive relief for alleged violations of federal law arising from government purchasing contracts for fuel derived from Canadian oil sands recovered crude (COSRC) oil, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses their suit. Plaintiffs allege defendants’ contracts violated Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security [...]

Clean Water Suit Dismissed for ‘Notice & Delay’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 20, 2011
Tags: Environmental, Judge Norman K. Moon, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Charlottesville U.S. District Court says one of the plaintiffs, Historic Green Springs Inc., has standing to sue a county water authority on claims that wastewater discharge violated state and federal water quality laws, but dismisses the suit because plaintiffs failed to provide the required 60-day notice for all the violations alleged in the amended [...]

Environmental contamination alleged from manufacturing of machine parts – Confidential Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: July 11, 2011
Tags: Environmental

Plaintiffs, 272 residents of the small community of Tallevast, Fla., mediated and ultimately settled their groundwater contamination cases against Lockheed Martin Corporation. Tallevast is located between the cities of Sarasota and Bradenton, Fla., in southern Manatee County, and is a blend of single-family residential homes and light commercial and industrial development. From 1962 until 1996, [...]

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